


Public Transportation

by PaigePenn



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), gt - Fandom
Genre: (but not explicitly stated), Borrowers as Pets, Fluff, Gen, Human Deceit, Human Logan, Pet au, borrower Patton, mention (twice) of animals being capable and willing to eat borrowers, the other sides do not make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-20 19:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21061934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaigePenn/pseuds/PaigePenn
Summary: Patton has finally convinced Logan to take him to work with him. They take the bus.You can also read this story onDeviantArtandtumblr.





	Public Transportation

Patton was so excited that he was bouncing on his toes. Today was the day that Logan was going to take him to work with him! Patton had barely been out outside of Logan's house since he was first given to the human, and Logan had told him so much about his workplace that it was a dream come true to actually get to come. In fact, it had taken a few weeks of occasional requests (frequent enough to stick in his memory, but infrequent enough to not be pestering) to get Logan to agree to it.

Patton twirled happily, then looked over at Logan's bed again. Most mornings, Logan, at Patton's insistence, woke Patton up just before he left to say goodbye, after which Patton went back to sleep for another hour or so, but today, the excitement had woken him up before Logan had even started moving. Patton looked at the clock again. Fifteen more minutes until Logan's first alarm.

Patton decided to spend the time checking his bag again. He had packed it last night, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to look over its contents one more time. He was using the smaller pack today, as he knew he wouldn't need to be carrying much, and wanted the extra mobility. Patton set the leather bag on his bed, opening it up and taking things out.

There were his climbing hooks, both his main and his spare, tucked neatly away in the spare's pocket. Normally, he'd have the main hook secured on the outside of the pack, but Logan had promised him he wouldn't need to climb anything, and he didn't want it to accidentally catch on anything. For the same reason, his rappelling gloves were in the hook pocket as well, instead of on his hands. Patton also had several pieces of paper, neatly cut by Logan into conveniently sized rectangles, and his pencil leads, both colored and regular, secured in their cloth case so they wouldn't mark anything else. These would come in handy if he got bored, which Logan seemed to think likely. Patton wasn't sure he believed Logan on that subject, but he had no objections to bringing his art things. There were a few snacks, but not a lot — Logan was going to bring lunch for both of them, so Patton didn't need to bring much for himself to eat.

Patton looked over the things spread across his bed, and then nodded and packed it all up again. As he was finishing, he heard movement behind him and turned to see Logan roll over to face in his direction, eyes still closed. Patton checked the time. Logan's first alarm must have just gone off. He hadn't heard it, but of course he wouldn't have; Logan preferred a silent, vibrating alarm on his watch over a loud one on his phone. Patton smiled fondly at the sleeping human, then finished repacking his bag.

For a few minutes, Patton sat on his bed, just watching Logan sleep. There wasn't a lot he could do right now: he'd already gotten dressed, with an extra sweater tied around his shoulders in case he got cold later and wanted to put it on.

After a while, Logan shifted again, his eyes fluttering for a second before he just pulled his blanket up over the lower part of his face and went right back to sleep. Patton looked at the clock again. Yes, that was Logan's second alarm. Two more alarms and six more minutes until he got up for real. But Patton already felt like he had been waiting for an eternity.

"Well," Patton whispered to himself, not wanting to disturb Logan, "I _could_ meet him over there instead." He nodded, opening his bag again. That would be a good way to pass the time. With that decided, Patton got out his gloves, putting them on. He didn't need to get out either hook, because Logan had permanently attached a climbing line to the dresser, so after a moment to check that it was secure, Patton sped down the line, almost at a freefall, toward the floor. Logan didn't like it when Patton went down that fast, but Patton thought it was fun, and Logan wasn't watching right now. About eighteen inches above the floor, Patton tightened his grip around the cord, adding friction and slowing himself gradually down. He came to a complete stop about an inch above the floor, and then stepped down.

Next he just had to cross the floor to Logan's bed. Not that he would climb the bed itself; that was one of Logan's hard rules: absolutely no being on Logan's bed while Logan was in it and also asleep. The nightstand was fair game, though. 

Logan's bedroom floor was usually a bit messy. Since he'd gotten Patton, he'd started tidying more, but there was still always at least one thing on the floor. It wasn't much of an obstacle course, but Patton still had to go around a pile of books on his way to the nightstand. 

There, he considered his options. Logan's phone was charging, and its cord hung down to the outlet, well within Patton's reach if he jumped a bit. However, that ran the risk, however small, of Patton's weight pulling the cord out of its port, or the phone off of the nightstand. And, though unlikely since his third alarm must have gone off while Patton was leisurely strolling across the room and he had hardly budged, Logan might, half asleep, remember that it was plugged in and disconnect it himself without checking for a borrower climbing the cord.

So maybe Patton wouldn't go up that way.

Instead, he got out his main hook and tossed it way up onto the nightstand. It caught on something, and Patton grinned, doing a small fist-pump of victory. He didn't always get it on the first try. Patton gave the hook a couple sharp tugs to make sure it was secure, and started climbing.

When he was about halfway up, Logan moved. Patton stopped climbing and hung on his rope, watching as the human sat up, stretched, and reached blindly for his glasses. His searching fingers brushed against Patton's line, making it quiver. Patton clung more tightly, which was a good decision, because Logan lifted the cord, bringing Patton around to dangle in front of his face.

"Good morning!" Patton greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning," Logan answered with a yawn. He looked Patton's few inches over briefly. "How long have you been up?"

Patton shrugged as best he could from his current position. "Half an hour?" he guessed. "I'm not completely sure."

"Hm," Logan said, lowering Patton to his blanket-covered lap and putting his glasses on one-handed at the same time. "Well," he said after a moment. "I still need to get ready too." Logan offered Patton a hand, which he climbed into without hesitation. "Where shall I set you?"

"Anywhere's good," Patton said, winding up his cord. "Nightstand or dresser might be most convenient for you."

Logan hummed, ferrying Patton over to the nightstand. Patton hopped off, taking a seat on Logan's phone to put his hook and line and gloves back in his bag. Logan got up then, and after pulling his blankets back up into position, went to his dresser to get a shirt. Patton looked away while Logan changed, knowing that Logan didn't like to be seen without all his clothes on.

Logan crouched in front of the nightstand while he tied his tie. "Ready for breakfast?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Patton said, bounding to his feet. Logan offered his hand again, and Patton climbed on, sitting comfortably in the middle of the human's palm.

"I usually have a bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee," Logan said as he walked, "but I can make you some toast if you want."

"Yes please."

In the kitchen, Logan let Patton down on the counter. "Bread or frozen waffle?" he asked, grabbing the glass measuring cup from its cabinet. 

"Waffle, please!" Patton called. Logan nodded, opening the freezer. He took a waffle from its box and put it in the toaster, pushing the lever down. Then, as it toasted, Logan put grounds and water into the coffee machine and started it. While that ran, he refilled the measuring cup and put it in the microwave, and as _that_ ran, Logan got out a bowl, filled it with oatmeal from a cardboard cylinder, and added some honey and salt. Then at last there were a few seconds of stillness.

"Excited?"

"Yeah!" Patton said, and Logan grinned, reminding Patton once again that that was his absolute favorite expression to see on Logan's face.

"Good," Logan said. "I still think you're going to get bored by lunch, but I'm glad you're excited to try it."

"There is absolutely no way I'm going to be bored," Patton assured him. Logan didn't look convinced, but he said nothing. The microwave beeped, so Logan got his now hot water out and poured it over his oats. Then he hesitated.

"You don't mind me starting before your waffle is ready, do you?" Logan asked.

"No, go ahead," Patton assured him. "Besides, you already poured the water in. Won't it get soggy if you let it sit?"

Logan nodded with a 'yes' hum, fetching a spoon and starting to eat. After a bit, he got a mug out of the cabinet, pouring what coffee was ready into it and taking a long sip. When he set his mug down, Patton came over and leaned over the rim, enjoying the warm ceramic pressed against his front and the scent of the coffee.

"If you want some, use your cup," Logan warned. "It's hot enough to burn your fingers."

Patton shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "It smells good, but it tastes awful," he answered. 

Logan chuckled. "Fair."

After Logan had eaten about half of his bowl of cereal, the toaster dinged and the waffle popped up. Logan jerked upright with realization and quickly went to the refrigerator to get the butter and put it in the microwave for a few seconds. "Strawberry or boysenberry?"

"Boys in berry," Patton answered, and Logan got the dark jam from the fridge. The microwave beeped again, and Logan took the butter out. With a knife, he spread first butter, then jam over the waffle, then separated off a good-sized chunk for Patton. "Thank you," Patton said as Logan handed it over. It was pleasantly warm, and he grinned before taking a big bite.

Patton couldn't finish the piece of waffle Logan had given him, but Logan was able to eat not only his entire bowl of cereal, but also the rest of the waffle, and, after Patton assured him that yes, he was full, the remainder of Patton's piece. _And_ drain the entire mug of coffee.

"You have jam on your face," Logan informed Patton with some amusement, filling a short cup with warm, soapy water for him to wash off.

Patton touched his face. It was indeed sticky. "Oops."

While Patton cleaned up, Logan put the rest of the coffee in his thermos, got his lunch, prepared the night before, out of the fridge, and put both into his shoulder bag, which he then put on, strap diagonally crossing his chest.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep!"

Logan gently picked Patton up, moving him over to his chest pocket. Patton took a second or two to settle comfortably into it, then grinned up at Logan again. Logan smiled back, and then they were off! Logan locked the front door behind him and headed down the sidewalk.

"How far is your bus stop?" Patton asked, not for the first time.

"Roughly a third of a mile," Logan answered, not at all bothered by the repetition. "It takes me six or seven minutes to walk there, if I don't hurry."

Patton nodded. He knew that being able to cover that much ground that quickly was just an effect of Logan's long stride, but at the same time, he couldn't help being impressed. It would take _Patton_ well over an hour to get to Logan's bus stop, even without the dangers associated with trying to travel out here on his own, where wild animals might see him and humans in cars probably wouldn't. And even supposing he got to the bus stop in one piece, Patton wasn't tall enough to signal the driver to stop, nor did he have a bus pass in his pocket. Which reminded him…

"Will you have to pay two fares?"

"No," Logan answered. "As long as you remain on my person, you're allowed on with me for free."

"Good." Patton didn't want to make Logan take on any extra expenses for his sake. That settled, Patton relaxed again in Logan's pocket, watching the scenery rush by. It was early fall, and though Logan had a jacket in case, the air was still warm.

Six minutes was much shorter during a walk to the bus than it was while waiting for Logan to wake up, and very soon they were at the stop.

"When will the bus be here?" Patton asked.

Logan looked at his watch. "It's scheduled to be here in four minutes, but it is always a minute or two late."

"Okay."

They were silent for a bit, and then Logan said, "If you want to sleep on the bus, you can."

Patton shook his head, eyes wide.

"I'll wake you up when we get in so you don't miss a thing," Logan added.

"I've never been on a bus before!" Patton protested. "I don't want to miss that either!"

"Fair enough."

They waited in silence again. Six minutes at the bus stop was almost as long as six minutes waiting for Logan to wake up, but not quite because Logan _was_ awake, and Patton was sitting in a warm pocket close enough to his heart that he could hear it beating, if he listened carefully, so he was very comfortable.

Finally, the bus came. Logan got his bus card out of his wallet as it pulled up, and when the doors opened, he entered, touched his card to a thing in the front that beeped, and moved down into the seating section. Logan sat in one of the sideways seats, so that when the bus started moving again, he'd be going to his right.

Patton looked around the bus in awe. There weren't many other passengers yet, so most of the seats were empty. The ceiling was curved, and there were several posters attached above the windows. Patton couldn't read all of them. Then the bus _rose_! Patton grabbed onto the cloth of Logan's pocket in surprise.

Logan didn't seem startled, though, and as the bus began to move forward, Patton looked up at him. He expected to see only the underside of Logan's jaw, but the human was looking back down at him. 

"What do you think?"

Patton grinned. "It's awesome!" he said. "This is definitely the biggest car I've _ever _been in."

"Technically not a car," Logan said with a smile that said that although he was correcting Patton's vocabulary, he wasn't even a little upset with him.

"Still," Patton said.

He was interrupted by a somewhat loud voice saying in measured tones, "Greenfield Row and Orchid Avenue."

Patton looked around for the speaker, then back up at Logan questioningly. That had sounded like it had come from the front of the bus, but the only person there was the driver, and Patton didn't think it was him.

"It's a computer-generated voice recording," Logan told him. "It announces the stops we're coming up on."

"Oh." Patton was quiet for a moment. "What's your stop?"

"Princeton and Vigilance."

Patton nodded seriously. "Got it."

"Also, it's roughly half an hour away," Logan added.

Patton nodded again.

The bus pulled over, and two people got on. Neither sat next to Logan. The bus started again, and the computer voice said, "Greenfield Row and North Street." After a while of quiet driving, it said, "Greenfield Row and Coral Lane."

Patton looked up at Logan again. This time Logan was looking forward, and Patton couldn't see much more of his face than the underside of his chin. Patton thumped on Logan's chest, and the human looked down with a raised eyebrow. "The bus didn't stop!"

"No," Logan agreed. "There must not have been anyone at the stop. The bus only stops if there's someone waiting, or someone in the bus requests a stop."

"Oh."

The bus didn't stop at the next stop either, but after the computer voice announced the one after that, it added, "Stop requested."

Patton blinked in surprise. He had thought the passengers would tell the driver they wanted the bus to stop, but apparently not. "Logan?"

"Hm?"

"How do you request a stop?"

Logan grinned, lifting one hand to touch a cord running across the window behind him. "You tug this, and it lets the driver know."

"How hard do you have to pull?"

"Not very."

"Can I do it?"

Logan considered it. "You can certainly try."

Patton grinned, sinking down into Logan's pocket happily. After a second or two of sitting at the bottom, he popped back up, because he still wanted to see. Logan ruffled his hair with a finger.

For quite a while, the bus continued, stopping at some stops and driving through others. Then Patton heard it! "Princeton Drive and Vigilance Lane."

He shot up eagerly in Logan's pocket. Logan looked down at him questioningly.

"That's your stop!" Patton said.

"No, it's not." Logan sounded confused.

Patton's heart sank. "But… Princeton and Vigilance," he said, voice quivering just a little.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you," Logan apologized. "Princeton and Vigilance cross a few times. We want the third one. It's after the bus makes a U-turn."

"Oh. Okay." Content with that answer, Patton settled again. A few stops later, he heard Logan's stop again, and said to himself, "Two." Some time later, the bus reached the end of a road and turned around. Patton listened extra carefully until…

"Princeton Drive and Vigilance Lane."

Patton looked eagerly up at Logan, who reached into his pocket and pulled him out. Logan lifted Patton to the cord, and Patton grabbed it in both hands, pulling as hard as he could.

"Stop requested," the computer voice announced, and Patton let go.

"Good job," Logan congratulated him, returning Patton to his pocket.

Patton grinned triumphantly.

A minute later, the bus stopped, and Logan stood. Patton slipped further into his pocket for a moment with the increased gravity, but he was standing again by the time Logan got off the bus.

"Almost there," Logan said, already heading down the sidewalk. Patton bounced excitedly in his pocket.

A few minutes later, Patton wasn't sure how many but it didn't feel very long, Logan opened the door to a large building with the silhouettes of a cat and a dog on its side. 

"Hi Logan!" someone called. Logan turned, and Patton saw a young redheaded man with a large yellow snake draped across his shoulders approaching them. 

"Hello, Dee," Logan answered.

Dee spotted Patton and grinned. "Oh, hey, you brought him!"

"Yes. Patton, this is my coworker, Declan. Dee for short," Logan introduced. "Dee, this is my borrower, Patton."

"Nice to meet you," Dee said, extending a hand. Logan took a step back, cupping his hand protectively over his pocket and Patton. 

"Danger Noodle goes back in her tank before you're allowed to touch Patton," he scolded.

Dee made a face. "That's just her name," he protested. "She's not _actually_ a dangerous noodle."

"Perhaps not to us, but you regularly feed her things larger than Patton." Logan's voice was very stern. "I did not bring him here just to risk him getting eaten."

"Okay, good point." Dee turned away, going toward the wall of glass tanks lining one wall. As he put the snake in one, Logan went to a desk, putting his shoulder bag down.

"Would you like out, Patton?" he asked.

"Sure."

Logan lifted Patton down to his desk just in time for Dee to make another appearance.

"Can I say hi now?" he asked Logan, who nodded. Dee grinned down at Patton. "Nice to meet you, Patton," he said again, holding out his pointer finger to him. 

"Nice to meet you too," Patton said, grabbing onto Dee's finger with his right hand. They did the best imitation of a handshake that they could with their size difference, and Dee pulled his hand back.

Patton looked up at Logan. "Can I meet some animals now?" he asked.

"Do you remember what we discussed?"

Patton nodded. "I can play with the mice and the gerbils and the really little snakes that can't eat me, and the lizards, but anything that's bigger than me I have to get specific permission for, and absolutely no cats," he recited. "And you or Dee has to know where I am at all times, and I'm not to be on the floor or in the fish tanks. And if I get bored or overwhelmed I can sit on your desk or in your pocket for as long as I want."

"Very good." Logan smiled. "I believe Dee has a full-building tour all planned," he told Patton.

"Indeed I do," Dee said with a grin. "I've been begging and begging Logan to bring you for _ages_, and he finally has, so now you get the Vee Eye Pea treatment." He offered Patton his hand.

Patton hesitated for a moment. He didn't know Dee at all yet, but Logan definitely seemed to trust him, so Patton climbed onto his hand. "Which one's your favorite?"

"Ooh, that's like asking me to choose between my children," Dee said, then added, "I don't have any kids, I'm twenty. I like the snakes, mostly. Danger Noodle's the chillest big snake we've got, but Stainglass is the prettiest." He paused, looking at Logan again. "Is Patton disallowed from even _looking_ at the cats, or is it just no touching?"

"No touching, and there needs to be a physical barrier, such as the pen door," Logan answered. "Looking is okay."

Dee grinned. "I think you'll like The Void," he said. "Cutest kitten I've ever seen."

"Aww," Patton squealed. "I wanna see!"

"Your wish is my command," Dee answered, turning to go.

"Have fun," Logan said.

"We will!"


End file.
